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Tabernacle Baptist Church holds the following statement of faith as being a summary of Christian doctrine whose authority consists only in its agreement with the word of God.
The Scriptures
We believe that the Holy Bible was written by men supernaturally inspired; that it has truth without any mixture of error for its matter; and therefore is, and shall remain to the end of the age, the only complete and final revelation of the will of God to man, the true center of Christian union and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried.
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By "The Holy Bible" we mean the collection of sixty-six books, from Genesis to Revelation, which as originally written and providentially preserved does not only contain and convey the Word of God, but IS the very Word of God.
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We believe that God preserved His Word in the form of the Authorized Version (King James Version). We believe the King James Version to be the infallible and inerrant Word of God.
Psalm 12:6, 7; 119:89; Isaiah 8:20; I Thessalonians 2:13; 5:21; II Timothy 3:15, 16.
The True God
We believe that there is one, and only one, living and true God, an infinite, intelligent Spirit, the maker and supreme ruler of heaven and earth; inexpressibly glorious in holiness and worthy of all possible honor, confidence, and love; and that in the unity of the Godhead, there are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption. Ex. 20:2-3; Gen. 17:1; I Cor. 8:6; Eph. 4:6; John 4:24; Ps. 147:5; Ps. 83:18; Ps. 90:2; Jer. 10:10; Ex. 15:11; Rev. 4:11; I Tim. 1:17; Rom. 11:33; Mark 12:30; Matt. 28:19; John 15:26; I Cor. 12:4-6; I John 5:7; John 10:30; John 17:5; Acts 5:3-4; I Cor. 2:10-11; Phil. 2:5-6; Eph. 2:18; II Cor. 13:14
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person; equal with God the Father and God the Son, and of the same nature; that He was active in the creation; that in His relation to the unbelieving world He restrains the Evil One until God´s purpose is fulfilled; that He convicts of sin, of judgment, and of righteousness; that He bears witness to the Truth of the Gospel in preaching and testimony; that He is the agent in the New Birth; and that He seals, endures, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies, and helps the Believer. John 14:16-17; Matt. 28:19; Heb. 9:14; John 14:26; Luke 1:35; Gen. 1:1-3; II Thess. 2:7; John 16:8-11; John 15:26-27; Acts 5:30-32; John 3:5-6; John 1:33; Acts 11:16; Luke 24:49; John 16:13; John 14:26; Rom. 8:14; Rom. 8:16; II Thess. 2:13; I Pet. 1:2; Rom. 8:26-27
Jesus Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. Isa. 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; II Cor. 5:19-21; Gal. 4:4-5; Phil. 2:5-8
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and, that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead.
Acts 2:18-36; Rom. 3:24-25; I Pet. 2:24; Eph. 1:7; I Peter 1:3-5
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate.
Acts 1:9-10; Heb.9:24; 7:25; Rom. 8:34; I John 2:1-2
Salvation
We believe that salvation is the unmerited gift of God given to man by grace and received by repentance and personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of sins. (Ephesians 2:8-10; 1:7; I Peter 1:18-19; John 1:12; Acts 13:38; Acts 16:30-31) We believe that the shed blood of JESUS CHRIST and His resurrection provided the only grounds for justification and salvation for all who believe; and only such as receive JESUS CHRIST are born of THE HOLY SPIRIT, and thus become children of God. (Hebrews 9:22; Hebrews 7:25; Romans 5:11; John 3:16)
Justification
We believe that the great gospel blessing which Christ secures to such as believe in Him is justification; that Justification includes the pardon of sin, and the gift of eternal life on principles of righteousness; that it is bestowed, not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer´s blood is His righteousness is imputed to us. Acts 13:39; Isa; 53:11; Zech. 13:1; Rom. 8:1; Rom. 5:9; Rom. 5:1; Titus 3:5-7; Rom. 1:17; Hab. 2:4; Gal. 3:11; Rom. 4:1-8; Heb. 10:38
The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God´s power and are thus secure in Christ forever.
We believe that it is the privilege of Believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God´s Word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1; 38-39; I Cor. 1:4-8; I Pet. 1:4-5; Rom. 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-15
Satan
We believe that Satan is a person, the father of lies, a murderer from the beginning and the great deceiver of all the nations; that he will finally be overcome by the Lord Jesus Christ as the Seed of woman, and that he will be cast into the bottomless pit for 1,000 years, and finally shall be committed to the Lake of Fire with all his angels to be tormented forever and ever. Job 1:6-12; John 8:44; II Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 6:12-16; Revelation 20:1-3; Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28:12-19
The Creation
We believe the Genesis account of creation as being neither allegory nor myth, but a literal, historical account of the direct, immediate creative acts of God without any evolutionary process; that man made up of spirit, soul, and body was created by a direct work of God and not from previously existing forms of life; and that all men are descended from the historical Adam and Eve, first parents of the entire human race. Genesis 1-2; Colossians 1:16-17; Matthew 19:4; John 1:3
Hell
We believe that there is a literal hell and a literal fire of hell as a place for the eternal and conscious punishment of all unsaved persons. Matthew 25:41-45; Mark 9:43-50; Revelation 20:14-15; Revelation 21:8
The Fall of Man
We believe that man, originally created by God in His image and after His likeness, fell from his high and holy estate by eating the forbidden fruit, and as a consequence of his disobedience, the threatened penalty of death was then and there inflicted, so that his moral nature was not only grievously injured by the fall, but he totally lost all spiritual life, becoming dead in trespasses and sins and subject to the power of Satan. Genesis 1:26; Genesis 2:17; John 5:40; John 6:53; Ephesians 2:1-3; I Timothy 5:6; I John 3:8
The Church
We believe that a visible church of Christ is a congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and the fellowship of the Gospel, observing the ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, and exercising the gifts, rights and privileges invested in them by His word; that its only Scriptural officers are bishops or pastors and deacons, whose qualifications, claims, and duties are defined in the epistles to Timothy and to Titus. This church is an independent local autonomy, governed internally and responsible only to the Lord Jesus Christ. Its ministries include glorifying the Savior, edifying the saints, and evangelizing the world for Christ. Matthew 16:18; Matthew 28:19, 20; Acts 2:47; Acts 14:23; Acts 20:28: Romans 16:5; Ephesians 1:22; Ephesians 5:23; 1 Timothy 3.
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Baptism and the Lord´s Supper
We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion in water of a Believer; in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, with the authority of the local church, to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, with its effect in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life; that it is prerequisite to the privileges of a church relation and to the Lord´s supper; in which the members of the church, by the sacred use of bread and the fruit of the vine are to commemorate together the dying love of Christ, preceded always by solemn self-examination. Acts 8:36-39; Matt. 3:6; John 3:23; Rom. 6:4-5; Matt. 3:16; Matt 28:19; Rom. 6:3-5; Col. 2:12; Acts 2:41-42; Matt. 28:1; Matt. 28:9-20; I Cor. 11:23-28
Giving
We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God's wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support his local church financially. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for giving, but that, every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the Church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the ultimate use of the tithe or offering once the gift has been made. Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; 1 Corinthians 16:2; II Corinthians 9:6-7; Galatians 6:6; Ephesians 4:28; 1 Timothy 5:17-18; 1 John 3:17.
Missions
We believe that God has given the Church a Great Commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ we must use all available means to go to the foreign nations and not wait for them to come to us. Our ambassadorship must include an effort to win the lost locally as well. Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:2 1; Acts 1: 8; II Corinthians 5:20.
Civil Government
We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: 1) the home, 2) the church, and 3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His Word. God has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God. II Sam. 23:3; Ex. 18:21; Matt. 22:21; Acts 4:19-21; Rom. 13:1-7; Eph. 5:22-24; Heb. 13:17; I Pet. 2:13-14; Ps. 71:11
The Resurrection, Return of Christ, and Related Events
We believe in and accept the sacred Scriptures upon these subjects at their full face value. Of the Resurrection, we believe that Christ rose bodily the third day according to the Scriptures; that He alone is our merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God; that “this same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven” - bodily, personally, and visible; that the dead in Christ shall rise first; that the living saints shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; that the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David; and that Christ shall reign a thousand years in righteousness until He has put all enemies under His feet. Matt. 28:6-7; Luke 24:39; John 20:27; I Cor. 15:4; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:2; Luke 24:4-6; Acts 1:9-11; Luke 24:51; Mark 16:19; Rev. 3:21; Heb. 8:1; Heb. 12:2; Heb. 8:6; I Tim. 2:5; I John 2:1; Heb. 2:17; Heb. 5:9-10; John 14:3; I Thess. 4:16; Matt. 24:27; Matt. 24:42; Heb. 9:28; I Cor. 15:42-44, I Cor. 15:51-53; I Thess. 4:17; Phil. 4:20-21; Luke 1:32; I Cor. 15:25; Isa. 11:4-5; Ps. 72:8; Rev. 20:1-4; Rev. 20:6
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Authority of The Statement of Faith
The Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe. We do believe, however, that the foregoing Statement of Faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible, and therefore, is binding upon all members.